France is a western European country bordering Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. It covers an area of 547000 sq km. Its territory is covered by a mix of plains and mountainous terrain. A centralised French state was first established in the Middle Ages in the form of a monarchy. France was overturned into a republic following the French revolution of 1789. Nowadays France has an advanced and prosperous economy and is a member of the EU and the NATO. The capital of France is Paris.